In conversation with Lily Davison: University of Bristol graduate and ex Below Deck crew

We sat down with Lily Davision, Bristol graduate and ex Below Deck crew, on her reality TV experience, being a student at Bristol and her private chef career.

Lily spent four years studying at Bristol where she “found my love for cooking.” She now works as a private chef on a sailing yacht in the Bahamas, which she describes as her “dream job.”

Below Deck

Lily was featured in season eight of Below Deck Mediterranean, where she worked as a stewardess.

She told us: “I really enjoyed being on below deck, it was something I’d never experienced before. It was quite funny, there was no way to prepare. It was pretty much like ‘Hey! three, two, one, walk to the bridge’, no explaining anything just don’t talk to the cameraman.”

Lily’s experience was boosted by her friendship with Captain Sandy who encouraged her to pursue her dreams. “Captain Sandy was a great mentor to me, she was like: You can teach skill but you can’t teach personality, you have to be willing

“Sandy encouraged me to stay in the industry, to get my dream job.”

Lily also credited the production team of the show: “They are super incredible, they gave me so much confidence. They were really great people and made you feel like once you leave the show you can do anything you want to”

“if it wasn’t for below deck, I wouldn’t be where I am today.”

The reality TV show often features dramatic turns, relationship fallouts and workplace drama. Lily told us: “Because you are being filmed and the guests are so high maintenance it is genuinely very dramatic, that goes for yachting in general.”

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Lily studied Geography BSc followed by a Master of Environmental Policy and Management. In her first year, she lived in Hiatt Baker, and after that living in Redland, Clifton and Park Street. Overall, she spent four years at Bristol where her culinary passion began.

She told us: “At Bristol, I would cook for every single one of my friends I would do big Sunday lunches and curry nights, the way it worked they’d pay for the ingredients and I cooked.

“I was cooking for all my friends maybe five, six times a week, it was great I really progressed and found my passion for cooking.”

She loved her time at Bristol, rating it highly as a student city. “I love the city, I love how you can walk everywhere, it’s a great student city there was literally everything you could want as a student.

“I love the areas, I loved the different vibes as you get older throughout the city”

Lily grew her career with her food Instagram which she started while studying in Bristol: “I started my food Instagram at Bristol, cause I was cooking so much for all my friends at Bristol so I started this food account. When I got my first job I had no experience but I had my food Instagram. My first employer loved it”

While her degree wasn’t chef-related, she told us: “If it wasn’t for Bristol I wouldn’t have found my love for cooking. In my degree, I focused a lot on food systems, and my master’s dissertation focused on food insecurity during Covid. Food has always been my backbone.”

Private chef

Lily now works as a private chef on a sailing yacht with her boyfriend, who she met on board, as the captain. She has been on the same boat for three years and is currently studying for three months at Ballymaloe Culinary School in Ireland to progress her skills and learn more about the industry.

Lily’s career started to kick off with her online food videos. She told us: “I gained followers online by posting my food videos online every day. I’ve started doing these day-in-a-life videos so I’m excited to get back in the boat and do more charters.”

When asked about the best part of being a private chef she said: “My favourite thing about being a chef is cooking for people. It’s my biggest passion, I love the joy it gives me. When I was at Bristol I found it very therapeutic.”

She added: “I love the creative side of the job, it never feels like a job I just feel like I’m having friends over for dinner every day.

“Some aspects feel more like a job but I genuinely love it so much, it never feels like ugh I’ve got to go to work.”

When speaking about her job, her passion for food is evident: “I love being able to match the ingredients to the place you are in, we get a lot of seafood in the Bahamas which I love to incorporate into my menus. I always have to adapt so I never have the same day twice.”

“To my fellow Bristolians”

Lily wants to share her words of wisdom to current Bristol students, on following their dreams and taking risks.

She said: “To my fellow Bristolians: You don’t always have to do exactly what your degree takes you to do, never feel like you have to do exactly what you signed up to do, the world is your oyster.”

Lily quit her 9-5 London office job to pursue her yachting dreams for a life of cooking, travel and adventure. Telling us: “I was 23 and I changed my whole career. Taking risks is sometimes scary but in the long run, is more rewarding and you’ll never have any regrets”

She encourages students to “Never hide from your passions, they could become your full-time job.”

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